My backyard is directly against two neighbors (one on the side and one on the back). Over the last year, there has been frequent standing water on my side of the fence of my neighbor on the side. I have asked her multiple times if she has a leak in her pool (she says the water level does not drop to indicate one) or if she is over-watering with her sprinklers (she said she has them turned off along that side of her fence). I do not have a sprinkler system, so since this is my backyard (water/sewer are at the front) and the water is along the fence and not near my house, my assumption has always been that it is something coming from her property, which is a little higher than mine. What type of person would I call to figure out the source of the water? It doesn't sound like a 'plumbing problem', so I don't know that paying a plumber makes sense or if they would be able to identify where the water is coming from.

 

A smart handyperson or a plumber might be my choice. There are only a few sources of water; rain/snow, water main, house and the pool. The difficult part might be access to your neighbors property and house since it sounds like that's where most of the investigating might need to be done.

 

Definitely isn't rain/snow - I'm in Texas and it happened during the dry spells last summer/fall. Would a water main be affecting back yard versus front? (water comes in from the front to the houses, and there is no indication of a leak on my water gauge). Agree that anyone investigating this can only gather so much info from my property, but I wasn't sure if this was even a job for a plumber since there is no 'plumbing' in my backyard.

 

I'd go so far as recommend notgetting a plumber in (at least initially). While you might find a plumber who can look at a problem holistically, their training and experience is in pipes. Same concept with bringing in a roofer to find a leak... the problem will practically always be the roof.

Water will move of course, but if your water main and sewer are in the front, it's unlikely to be causing this. Do you (or your neighbors) have hose faucets anywhere around the property - though I'm assuming you already crossed that off the list of possibilities.

If you share some pics, maybe someone here will notice something they've seen before.

 

I will try to get some photos, but they are not that interesting: they are puddles. One other thing that I didn't mention: there is a french drain in the back yard that my gutters feed into, but this standing water occurs even after long periods without rain.

 

Here are some photos

 

I think you misunderstand. We all know what a puddle of water and leaves look like. What we need to see is your yard. The big picture. We want to see the lay of the land, the fence and anything else in the area that might be the source of the water.

 

Sorry - photos showing their fence as well as an example of the moisture creeping from that direction.

 

Where does the French drain go to and dump out?

 

Part of it does run along the fence. It hasn't rained in over a week, and popping one of the grills shows water, but it isn't flowing or blocked. I have no idea where it dumps out.

 

If a French drain overflows then it is not working properly or is not constructed properly. It must empty out somewhere.

 

The french drain does not overflow - I was just saying that the water currently in there is not flowing.

Thanks

 

You need to fill in the puddles so the water goes to the French drain inlets.